British PM And US Secretary Of State Say China Failed On Hong Kong, President Xi Jinping: There Is No Reason To Change The System

President China Xi Jinping. (Wikimedia Commons/Palácio do Planalto)

JAKARTA - There is no reason to change Hong Kong's 'one country, two systems' government formula, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a visit to the city as well as inaugurating its new administrative leader, John Lee Friday.

Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule on July 1, 1997, with Beijing promising broad autonomy, unfettered individual rights and judicial independence, until at least 2047.

China's critics have accused authorities of trampling on those freedoms, which are not available on the authoritarian mainland, with a national security law imposed by Beijing on the city in 2020, after mass pro-democracy protests the previous year.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that China had failed to live up to its surrender commitments. Meanwhile, China and Hong Kong deny the allegations, saying the law restores order from chaos, so the city can prosper.

President Xi said the "one country, two systems" formula worked under China's "comprehensive jurisdiction".

"For a good system like this, there is absolutely no reason to change it. It must be maintained in the long term," Xi said.

"After experiencing the wind and rain, everyone can painfully feel that Hong Kong cannot be chaotic, and must not be chaotic again. Hong Kong's development cannot be delayed any longer, any disturbance must be removed," he said.

President Xi added that China would support Hong Kong's role as a center for international finance and trade.

It is understood that at Lee's swearing-in ceremony, all officials, including President Xi, wore masks and did not shake hands. Lee is a former police officer sanctioned by Washington for his role in implementing the Security Act.

President Xi himself did not attend the traditional flag-raising ceremony on Friday, with media reporting he was staying across the border in Shenzhen after arriving in Hong Kong on Thursday.

President Xi's visit to Hong Kong is his first since 2017, when he took the oath of Carrie Lam, who was succeeded by Lee. There is no reason and it has not been officially confirmed why he chose Shenzen.